Overview

• Jocelyn Samuels, a Democratic appointee to the EEOC, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging her dismissal by President Trump.
• Samuels was terminated alongside fellow Democratic commissioner Charlotte Burrows shortly after Trump began his second term, leaving the EEOC without a quorum to operate effectively.
• The lawsuit claims Trump lacked legal authority to remove Samuels without cause and accuses the administration of attempting to dismantle worker protections and diversity policies.
• Samuels is represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation, Katz Banks Kumin, and Justice Legal Strategies in her legal challenge.
• The firings are part of a broader pattern of Trump targeting independent federal agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and Federal Trade Commission, to reshape regulatory norms.